3 at Yale charged in burning of flag

Three Yale University students, including one who translated for U.S. troops in Afghanistan and testified at a former CIA contractor's trial, have been charged in the burning of an American flag on a porch.

The three were arrested Tuesday after officers spotted the burning flag and tore it from the pole where it was mounted to the house, police said.

Said Hyder Akbar, 23, Nikolaos Angelopoulos, 19, and Farhad Anklesaria, 19, were charged with arson, reckless endangerment and other crimes.

"People could have been hurt," police spokeswoman Bonnie Posick said. "They even admitted it was a stupid thing to do."

Akbar, a U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, worked as an informal translator for U.S. forces during the invasion of Afghanistan and published a memoir, "Come Back to Afghanistan."

"He's an incredibly articulate, mature, sweet, smart guy," said Gillian Blake, Akbar's editor at Bloomsbury USA in New York. "It's an amazing book."

Akbar _ whose father was a spokesman for the Afghan president and served as governor _ also testified at the trial of David Passaro, a contractor charged in the death of an Afghan citizen in U.S. custody. Now a senior, Akbar said in 2004 he walked out of the interrogation in disgust after an enraged Passaro began threatening the prisoner, but said that he saw no abuse.

Passaro was sentenced in February to nearly 8 1/2 years in prison for beating a detainee, who died.

Angelopoulos is a Greek citizen and Anklesaria is British, officials said. Both freshmen were ordered to turn over their passports.

Angelopoulos and Akbar posted $25,000 bonds Tuesday, while Anklesaria posted $15,000.

The three do not have criminal records, Deputy Assistant Public Defender Sanford Bruce said Wednesday.

"All three of these gentlemen are clearly happy to be in the United States and happy to be attending Yale," Bruce said.

He declined to discuss a possible motive, but he said there were no grounds for the arson charge.

Yale says student discipline matters are confidential.